In the dark train carriage, Qiao Jiuru secretly tucked three white steamed buns, two eggs, and a handful of White Rabbit milk candies into her cloth backpack.

Su Huaiyuan noticed this the moment his wife opened her eyes.

He and his wife had already agreed with their eldest son that the three of them would take turns keeping watch during the night.

Before midnight, it was Su Huaiyuan’s shift.

From midnight to 5 a.m., Qiao Jiuru took over.

From 5 a.m. to 8 a.m., their eldest son, Su Ze, would be on duty.

If it were just the three of them as adults, they wouldn’t need to take turns staying awake. But they had two children with them.

It’s better to be safe than sorry—Da Bao and Xiao Bao were both very good-looking children, easy targets for child traffickers.

They couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

Qiao Jiuru handed the backpack to Su Huaiyuan and gestured that she was going to the restroom.

Su Huaiyuan gave his wife a knowing nod and instantly became fully alert.

As he carefully observed their surroundings, he quietly reached into the cloth backpack, tore off a piece of bun, and popped it into his mouth while glancing toward the window.

Qiao Jiuru headed to the train’s restroom.

As soon as she shut the door, she slipped into her secret space.

Once inside, she immediately went to the kitchen in the courtyard and filled a large bowl with millet porridge.

She drank as she went to fetch the dozens of meat buns she had bought earlier from the state-run restaurant.

After finishing a large bowl of porridge and one meat bun, Qiao Jiuru instantly felt much better.

She then ate two eggs and another meat bun.

Feeling satisfied, she used the restroom in the courtyard before exiting the space.

When she returned to her seat, Su Huaiyuan had only sneaked half a bun.

Seeing her back, he let out a discreet sigh of relief.

With her cover, he quickly finished the remaining two buns and two eggs.

He left the White Rabbit candies untouched.

Next to be awakened was Su Ze.

He and Zhou Wanwan were holding Da Bao and Xiao Bao, seated next to the window.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan sat on the aisle side to block outsiders’ view.

Su Ze felt something soft placed in his hand. From the texture alone, he knew it was a white flour bun. He immediately understood what was going on.

Using Da Bao’s small body as a cover, he quickly finished the white bun and egg.

Fortunately, the egg had already been peeled—otherwise, that would’ve been a tricky and messy job.

After Su Ze quietly finished his late-night meal, he handed Da Bao to his father and went to the restroom.

Finally, it was Zhou Wanwan’s turn to eat.

Having just finished two white buns, she was now eating an egg.

At last, she started to believe that her parents-in-law had truly prepared for this forced relocation. Otherwise, how could they possibly be eating eggs and white flour buns right now?

Once all the adults had eaten, the two children were carried to the restroom.

After they returned, Qiao Jiuru placed a thermos prepared in the space into Xiao Bao’s mouth.

Half-asleep, Xiao Bao took a sip and immediately sensed something was different.

He drowsily opened his eyes to glance at his mother and grandmother.

Then his little mouth instinctively began drinking eagerly.

Milk. Delicious, fragrant, sweet milk.

Da Bao, like Xiao Bao, was half-asleep when being fed, but he still remembered how to drink.

He quickly finished the entire thermos of milk Qiao Jiuru had prepared.

The night passed without incident.

In the morning, the family had sweet potatoes again.

But this time, each person also received five biscuits, along with the White Rabbit candies Qiao Jiuru had secretly packed.

Fortunately, they were due to arrive before noon.

As they neared their destination, Qiao Jiuru gave her husband, eldest son, and daughter-in-law each a Strength and Vitality Pill.

Once they got off, officials from the Tong County Reassignment Committee would be waiting at the train station. Who knew how they’d treat the Su family?

Sure enough, just as the train pulled in and the family was gathering their luggage, a group of people with red armbands came hurrying toward their carriage.